Definitely a character driven plot, with plenty of twists and turns, and I enjoyed the authors writing style. It was very interesting to ride along as Sarah unraveled, but I definitely would have liked to see more action to drive the plot forward. Sarah was emotionally immature, often lashing out at others and behaving in a very juvenile manner, which only made it more impossible to believe she managed to fake a psychology degree. However, this novel definitely highlighted the modern problem of social media likes somehow translating into platforms allowing unqualified people to give advice. The overall atmosphere of the book was great; it was tense, mysterious, and at times, unnerving. A great blend of psychological and supernatural horror, that was unfortunately, not done any favors by a frankly disappointing ending.

I LOVED this book! I read it in one sitting, and it has quickly become one of my favorites of the thriller/mystery/horror genre.

This book is as if an HGTV host couple bought a murder house, and we got to see all of the behind the scenes of their actual failing relationship and how insanely hard renovating a house actually is, even before the potential of an evil spirit haunting the home comes into play. No character is who they seem to be, and the surprises came at the perfect pace, so it never felt unrelenting or (dare I say it) unrealistic. Just a spooky, mysterious tale that may or may not be resolved by the end, depending on what you believe.

I liked this book. It seemed a little bit of a slow start but overall I enjoyed it. I really like the haunted house vibes. I am always up for a spooky haunted house.

The Stranger Upstairs is a great horror/psychological thriller by author Lisa M. Matlin. The main character Sarah, is a lifestyle blogger who begins renovating The Black Wood House, a house where a horrible murder-suicide took place. Strange and bizarre things start happening and the whole story spirals into chaos from there. I really enjoyed how I never really knew which direction the story was going to take. Honestly, this book did unnerve me at times and I definitely needed to read it in the day time. This is a perfect story if you like to be a little bit scared while reading.

Great book!! I didn't want to put it down! Twists and turns that left you wondering what would happen next! Just when you thought you had it figured out.... Nope you were wrong! I look forward to hopefully seeing more books from Lisa!!

High action, murder mysteries, thriller, are all among my favorite genres but “The Stranger Upstairs” was just too much and yet I returned to finish it. The characters were unlikeable one and all, some more odious than others. The setting is suitably creepy, Black Wood House built in 1889 and best know for an horrific murder and about to be occupied by its new owners. The house is a disaster that needs to be completed renovated so it can be flipped for a large profit but things are not going according to plan.

There is a house that refuses to be renovated, a couple that is living a lie and not so subtle hints as what is coming are dropped on every page. It is hard to become invested when there is so much evil, gross deception, lies, gruesome wickedness and those are the positives. The Author’s Note explains much but doesn’t ease the level of discomfort and revulsion I felt throughout my reading of the book. Better to leave it as a miss for me.

Thanks to Bantam Books and NetGalley for a copy.

I loved the creepy vibes this book had. A murder house that a couple is now going to flip for profit. One of them is a social media influencer so she thought it would be a great way to blow up online. However, the house has other ideas.

This was a great debut novel. I just felt like part of it drug for me in the middle. I was ready to get some answers. Those answers were very shocking though.

Can't wait to see what else this author puts out in the future.

Thank you @netgalley & Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for allowing me to read and review this ARC.

Didn’t love it and didn’t hate it. Felt like it was somewhat slow moving and just totally bazaar. Maybe some people like that, but not my cup of tea.

Sarah Slade and her husband Joe have just bought Black Wood House aka "The Murder House", because a man killed his wife, attacked his daughter, and then killed himself there years earlier. Sarah is looking to renovate the house and post the progress on social media, hoping to profit from it.
However, both she and Joe are hiding secrets, and the house and the neighbors don't seem to want him there. Sarah is supposed to be a therapist helping others, but her marriage and her health are both crumbling. Sarah, it seems has a dark past, and it is all revealed during the telling of the story.
She is an unreliable narrator, and her descent into madness is frightening, but is it since she moved to the house, or has she always had mental health issues?
The book is made all the more memorable by the author's note at the end.

Really enjoyed this descent into madness. Sarah just moved into a murder house. Shortly after her life begins to deteriorate. Someone or something is haunting Sarah, will she find out who before she loses it all?

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine, Bantam for an advanced copy of this ebook in exchange for an honest review.

This was an updated haunted house story, perfect for horror fans. Only negative was the slow start to the book , but once it got started I was drawn in until the secrets were revealed.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

𝙈𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙗𝙪𝙮 𝙖𝙣 𝙞𝙣𝙛𝙖𝙢𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙢𝙪𝙧𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙛𝙪𝙣 . . . 𝙗𝙪𝙩 𝙎𝙖𝙧𝙖𝙝 𝙎𝙡𝙖𝙙𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚.

Meh.

I had such mixed feelings after finishing this book. I thoroughly enjoyed parts of it, but at times the story felt so ridiculous. I honestly was on the fence about whether I wanted to pick this book up in the first place, but I caved in as the premise sounded so interesting.

I think the beginning was interesting in its own way, however, part two is what completely threw me off and changed my perspective on the story. Yes, the pacing was excellent, but I feel like there wasn’t enough action to keep me entertained the whole way through.

Overall, this was a super quick read and had some spooky elements to it. I enjoyed the first half of the book a lot more than the second. While the story was mediocre for me, I can definitely see readers enjoying this more than I did.

Thank you so much NetGalley and Bantam for the review copy in exchange for my honest review!

i did not enjoy this book unfortunately. the premise intrigued me but while reading it i couldn’t help but draw comparisons between this and the haunting of hill house (the show, not the book) and how much better hill house did the whole haunted house thing.

sarah is clearly unstable from the beginning and quite frankly, an insufferable main character from chapter two and on. like no wonder your marriage is failing. she also gave into the whole house being alive thing from the very beginning which doesn’t work for a story like this. from the beginning she talks about trying to renovate and then being like “no. the house doesn’t want me to” girl at that point just move out.

i wasn’t rooting for her at any point in the book. especially since at the end she tells us that she doesn’t want to change and then exhibits that throughout the book until the end by not changing at all. i also didn’t understand why sometimes she said “stuff” in place of “fuck”, like “stuff this”.

to build suspense it would’ve been better for her not to believe in the houses sentience from the beginning and have her slowly accept it because there seems to be no other explanation. especially since we were presented with an explanation at the end, the carbon monoxide. which was confusing because did no one inspect it before selling it to two separate buyers? but then the epilogue ruined it by insinuating that the house is actually sentient and evil? so which is it? also was jeff actually as evil as she thought he was or was that another hallucination?

lots of things didn’t make sense and i didn’t enjoy this book as much as i thought i was going to.

I thank the Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book! The opinions in this review are entirely my own.

This book was at times a bit confusing. I did like the writing, but overall the book was just OK for me. I couldn't like the MC. I usually like unreliable narrators and morally grey characters, but this MC didn't do it for me. I tried to find something to like about her, I really did. Alas, she was just annoying and I felt no sympathy for her.

Sarah, a social media influencer, decides to buy and move into an infamous murder house. Her goal is to renovate the house and bring her followers along for the ride. However, as she starts to peel away the layers of the house, she quickly realizes there may be more to this house than a murder-suicide past. The builders start acting weird and falling victim to strange incidents. While Sarah lays in her blood-stained carpet bedroom, she starts to hear footsteps in the attic when she's home alone. As time progresses, Sarah starts to find ominous notes everywhere: her work, her car, and the house. Sarah quickly starts to consider that someone in the town wants to run her off the property so it can be torn down for good. However, Sarah is desperate to make this renovation project a success and continues to remodel the house despite the ever-increasing threat of danger from the house or someone in the town. She's desperate for this to be a success because she has a dark past that she is desperate to keep running from.

This was a fun thrill ride, I could not put it down. It was shocking to me that it was the author's debut, because it read like the product of a seasoned author. The twists at the end were unlike anything I had read before, which is always a pleasant surprise. Look forward to following this author's future work.

The stranger upstairs had me hooked. I couldn't wait to find out what was happening at the black woods house. I also think it was great that mental health was touched on so openly. Really enjoyed this one.

My thanks to Bantam and NetGalley for an eARC of The Stranger Upstairs.

Sarah Slade, in the midst of a failing marriage and floundering career as author, counselor, and influencer, decides to comlplicate her life even more by purchasing and remodeling an infamous murder house. Though it’s been over 40 years since the brutal crimes were committed there, the neighbors are none to eager to have her there and she can’t help but become suspicious of them when strange things start happening.

As the mysteries about the house deepen, so do the mysteries about Sarah’s past. With the perfect level of creepiness and secrets, this one is sure to be a page turner for any reader looking for a satisfying thriller. Also the author’s note is not one to miss and her vulnerability in sharing is commendable.

The Stranger Upstairs has the perfect setup for a quick-read mystery/thriller. Who doesn’t love a good haunted/murder house premise? Add an unreliable and unlikeable narrator and Matlin has certainly followed in the footsteps of some of the most popular books in the genre in recent years. It kept me guessing until the end, and while I wouldn’t call it a must-read, I’d definitely recommend it to fans of the genre. Knowing this is a debut novel, I’m curious to see what Matlin writes in the future. 3.5 stars.

I will admit that up until about a third of the way through the book, I was not that into it. Luckily, I kept reading. This book is so atmospheric. You can actually feel the cold, picture the bloodstains. There are numerous symbols throughout the book, primarily about birds, that pretty much tell you that this is not going to end well, but for whom? Is the house haunted, or is Sarah just crazy? Once I got to about forty percent, I finished the rest in one sitting. I loved the creepiness, the twists and characterization. Sarah is not an easy protagonist to figure out, but once you do, you will have to decide for yourself if she is haunted, a victim of circumstances or just plain psychopathic. I'd love to hear what you think!

The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin was a strangely told novel that had the elements of a crime and horror(spooky). The house was creepy scary along with the crime. It started out strong and believable until the day to day activities proved otherwise. I couldn’t reconcile what was being told with what I was seeing for it to make any sense.
The last have was very confusing and too crazy for me to believe. So it basically didn’t work for me but tgere was a lot of potential here.
Thanks Random House Publishing Group via NetGalley.